If you’re not involved directly, you may not be aware of the startup renaissance happening right here in St. Louis. Those supporting it have been working to nurture this exploding ecosystem for years, some even decades. The parties involved are diverse and include government agencies, fortune 50 companies, nonprofit organizations, volunteer mentors, bold entrepreneurs, real estate developers, schools like SLU and Washington University, discerning investors and so many more.

With all the negative press that St. Louis often gets around things like racial divide, a fractured city/county, the departure of the Rams, corporate exits and the like, we should be celebrating the startup revolution happening in our city. This startup culture has the opportunity to change St. Louis’ trajectory.

My Experience at CIC

Over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to start and grow my business at CIC@CET (Cambridge Innovation Center at the Center for Emerging Technologies—it’s a mouthful, I know). It’s located in what you might have heard described as the Cortex District, which is the area just east of the Central West End.

CIC provides an energizing environment for business owners, entrepreneurs and companies to start, grow and push their innovations forward, all while surrounded by like minded people. I’m proud to be a part of it. Since I located Modern Dollar here in 2015, I’ve seen monumental change. At that point, I had my pick of many empty offices—I believe there’s now a long waiting list to join. Don’t worry, CIC is busy adding more space to keep the momentum going.

An Infectious, Growing Startup Culture

While the staff at CIC and the companies housed here are doing great work, it’s only a small part in the ecosystem that is driving this revolution. I’m also a member of the Missouri Venture Forum. Earlier this week, MVF presented the second annual Roadmap to Entrepreneurship Event. The daylong forum brought together business titans, professors, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, service providers and many others at Monsanto’s Danforth Center to stimulate conversation and provide actionable advice to move entrepreneurs forward. Connective and education rich events like this are happening all over our city.

Research produced by the St. Louis Regional Chamber found that T-Rex (a downtown startup incubator) has generated more than $350M in annual economic output and accounted for creation of over 2,200 jobs.

Why It Matters

We boast great baseball, excellent food, attractive parks, underrated outdoor activities and we’re a well-kept national secret as a great place to raise a family. Those things, however, won’t be enough to keep us relevant. To keep progressing as a city, we’ll need thriving industry and career opportunities for our residents.

While we’ve seen corporate relocations devastate the area, this revolution of startups in St. Louis has the potential to attract (and retain) bright leaders that could transform our community. If we can keep intelligent, creative, and thoughtful people here, I believe we’ll see a myriad of benefits – greater career opportunity, improved schools, safer neighborhoods, better government, improved infrastructure, more activities and even ideas to attack the racial issues that divide of our city.

How YOu can support this

As we invest in this ecosystem, it will reward our city. I hope you’ll pay attention to this movement and where you can, help nurture it.

If you’re a business owner, look for a local company that might be able to help you solve a problem or provide you a service. Give a startup a chance to earn your business. As a newer business owner, I can tell you we’re often hungrier than incumbents to provide a better product or experience to earn your trust.

If you’re a consumer, seek out opportunities to give these companies a chance to earn your business. For example, if you’re a parent, check out Crossbar to help streamline kids sports scheduling. Looking for something to do this weekend? Check out Olio City to find activities. There are literally hundreds of other businesses that deserve your attention.